A Different Kind of Opportunity
by Princess Claire Fey
Summary: In an AU where Ursa was caught killing Azulon, she fled to the Earth Kingdom, eeking out a life among the riff-raff and trying not to be discovered. It's there at a far flung tavern a 100 miles out of Gaoling that she runs into a bounty hunter who sees through her disguise. But the spirits smiled on Ursa that night, and she was given an opportunity to prove herself. (Femslash Feb)


It had been many months since Ursa had escaped the Fire Nation and its search parties. Stowing away on a ship to the Earth Kingdom was not an easy feat, especially with little money and much vulnerability. Agni had smiled on her though, and she found safe passage on a vessel with people who didn't see her plight as an opportunity to use and abuse. Her life now was a far cry from what it was before her exile, every day was a struggle to put a roof over her head and food on her plate while simultaneously avoiding the ruthless bounty hunters and the trials of being a lone woman without a male escort, but Ursa managed. The spirits had her back.

After moving away from Goaling (having been there too long), Ursa managed to find work as a serving girl at a tavern who's job description thankfully didn't include anything beyond cleaning, serving drinks, and dealing with those who drank a little too much. It wasn't easy work, but it was honest, and she appreciated that.

It had just been another friday night when a rather striking woman with jet black hair tied in a knot, twin serpent tattoos on her shoulders, and an outfit that was definitely designed for work, not play (which somehow only added to her allure, rather than taking away from it, at least to Ursa). Truthfully, Ursa hadn't paid her more than a few glances, having many other customers to busy her. She didn't see _when_ she had made her rather unfortunate bet with a local thug, Fan.

She only noticed when the crowd started to develop around them as they arm-wrestled, eagerly placing their side bets throwing the occasional copper as encouragement. As much as Ursa would like to say she kept it strictly professional, not getting caught up in the pissing contests between the patrons, she couldn't help but admire the tenacity of the woman.

That was, until she won.

"Looks like you owe me those hundred gold pieces." she said, her voice gruff but her expression clearly filled with amusement.

Fan stood up, shaking his head. "It wasn't a fair match, you cheated." he said dramatically, the crowd immediately growing quiet.

"Looks like you just lost, kid," she spoke to the man who was easily in his fourties. "You gonna pay up or am I gonna have to take my gold from you."

The man shoved the small wooden table to the side. "You're going to pay, all right."

One sentence was the match the tavern needed to explode in violence. Fan and his men against the woman with the tattoos, and the various betters from both sides against eachother in vain efforts to recover their wagers. In seconds, organized chaos collapsed into, well, regular chaos. Tables were knocked onto the ground, glasses and bottles shattered, with the floor getting covered in spilled drink.

Normally, Ursa would just let the men brawl it out as she'd have to clean up the mess either way, and she was just about to do exactly that until one of Fan's men dropped into an earthbending stance. The damage aside, the tavern was flimsy enough as it stood, and tearing up the earth through the foundations wouldn't help. Ursa didn't exactly appreciate the idea of being buried under a building.

Fortunately, the man's attention was squarely on the woman, who was putting up a hell of a fight. A swift kick to the back of his legs brought him down to his knees, and another to his head took him out of the fight. _Un_fortunately for Ursa, taking him down made two of his friends break off and turn their attention to her.

The two men had several inches and at least a few dozen pounds on her, easy. Immediately she was put on the defensive, dodging improvised weapons, doing her best to sidestep their every thrust - which was hard, considering all the _other_ fights going on at the same time. The spirits were smiling on Ursa that night however, because one of the two men bumped into someone else, giving Ursa a brief window to take his partner to the ground with a sweeping kick, and keeping him there with another to his groin.

The other man was on her in seconds, closer now due to the distance she made up disposing of his partner. She gracefully dodged a few of his strikes, but her luck ran out when the man got a solid grip on her left arm, holding her into place. Ursa swung upwards with her other arm using as much force as she could, hitting him squarely in the jaw.

...

He was not amused.

Her ears gained a deafening ring as he struck her and threw her to the ground, muttering an obscenity that Ursa couldn't quite catch as she did her best to get up off the ground.

However, instead of being knocked down again like she had been expecting, the man who she had struck joined her on the ground, his expression that of recently-acquired unconsciousness. Ursa looked up to see the tattooed woman standing over her, lending a hand.

"t-thanks." she said, accepting, her mind still somewhat in a daze after being struck in the head.

"No problem." said the woman, before sidestepping a pair of side-betters and moving to collect her rightful winnings from Fan's unconscious body.

* * *

The tavern had since emptied almost completely, the night having run its course with everyone going home of their own sleepiness or being shooed out after drinking a little too much.

"You know, I didn't expect to find someone trained at Hira's to be out here." said June, counting the gold pieces she had lifted from Fan and his men (not nearly as much as the hundred he had promised, but that didn't matter. The satisfaction of wiping that smug grin off of his face was more than enough).

Ursa froze, barely avoiding overfilling the drink she was pouring. "Hira's?" she asked, in a desperate bid to lie.

The woman smiled. "Don't play dumb. I've been there. Once, some Fire Nation military man hired me to track someone down there. Nyla couldn't find him, but I did get to meet Cheng, your instructor." she said, not even bothering to check the flicker of recognition in Ursa's eyes. "Teaches girls to punch above their weight, I admire that. You certainly took his lessons to heart, except for the part where you let that guy get a little too close."

She did her best to control her breathing, trying not to let her anxiety over being discovered as Fire Nation show. "I suppose that was a mistake, yes."

A long pause. The tattooed woman looked side to side to make sure they were alone.

"I know you're that Fire Nation Princess everyone's looking for." she said, enunciating her words by pulling a wanted poster out of her bag and unfurling it in front of her. "Ursa Ryu, wanted for killing the Firelord. That must have taken guts."

Ursa checked the exits.

"Look." said the woman. "I may be a bounty hunter, but that doesn't mean I'm not a woman of honor. I hadn't seen that earthbender coming, if he'd gotten a shot off things would have gone very bad for me." she admitted. "I'm not in the business of stabbing those who've helped me in the back. Least of all the woman who killed the Firelord. You made a lot of people very happy when you did that."

"Thank you." Ursa said finally, breathing a sharp sigh of relief. Somehow, the one woman who knew enough to discover her didn't want to turn her in, and for something she hadn't even intended to do no less.

"But," she continued. "When that idiot and his men get over the ass-kicking I just gave them, they won't be so charitable. They'll remember you, and there's a good chance they'll wise up and figure out who you are." she said matter-of-factly. "And even if they don't, they'll still want some payback."

She nodded. The woman was right, it was time Ursa moved on again. "I'll probably head out tomorrow." she said.

She leaned forward. "Instead of skipping town and finding another run down establishment to play waitress at, why don't you come with me." offered the bounty hunter. "I could use a partner. Being alone is starting to get on my nerves."

Ursa gave her an inquisitive look as if to ask _what's your angle here?_

"I'm not really the bounty hunting type." Ursa answered after a pause, feeling as though she should say no but not wanting to directly refuse the person who could get her in a lot of trouble. "Surely there are other people more qualified?" she asked, earning a small laugh from the tattooed woman.

"Alright, I'll be level with you. You're a fighter who has her head on straight, you aren't attached to anything, and most of all you're pretty. I'd like to share a bed with you, and maybe some of my bounty, depending on how useful you end up being." she explained, as though she were discussing the weather.

Ursa almost blushed, her heart responding before her brain could catch up. They hadn't so much exchanged names and already this woman was inviting her to ride off into the sunset as though they were young lovers eloping on nothing but good looks and a few mutual passions. "What happens if I say no, will you-"

The bounty hunter cut her off. "Like I said, I'm a woman of honor. You walk out of this a free woman either way, I'm just offering you an opportunity." she explained. "of sorts, anyway. Way I see it, both of us are nomads. Moving from place to place is part of my job, and for you it's a necessity. If we're going around the world anyway, why not do it together? If I'm wrong about you and it doesn't work out, we just part ways. No attachments."

Ursa's brow furrowed as she genuinely considered the woman's offer. She _was_ leaving anyway, and someone having her back would be of tremendous benefit, even if they had just met. Ursa _had_ been getting involved with people on first impression quite often since she'd been on the run, this would hardly be any different. "Maybe I could... get to know you a little first? Before the sharing the bed part." she said awkwardly, as though she were a teenager for just a brief moment. Okay, maybe this was a little different.

Her statement earned a hearty laugh from the bounty hunter. "Works for me." she said, finally picking up the drink Ursa had poured for her. "Oh, by the way. Name's June."


End file.
